Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Gantos, Jack. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. 154 pages. Tr. $16.99, ISBN 978-0374336646; Paperback $6.99, ISBN 978-0312623555  (reissue by Square Fish, 2011)

What’s it about?

Latch-key kid Joey Pigza’s brain is wired differently. Even with medication, his antics turn harmful.  Will his A.D.D. ever get under control?  

Find out more:

Joey Pigza, who suffers from severe ADHD was abandoned by his parents in kindergarten and raised by his manic, abusive grandmother. His alcoholic mother re-emerges in his life, but can’t provide him as much attention as he needs. Compounding the problem, Joey’s medications don’t work throughout the day, leaving him, in Joey’s words, a “wired-up mess.” Wired Joey can’t think straight, and his judgment becomes questionable, making him very accident prone. He swallows his key, jumps off a roof, and loses a fingernail when he decide to sharpen it after he finished sharpening pencils. When Joey causes an accident that causes a classmate to lose the tip of her nose, he is sent to a special education school where he meets a caring case worker, Special Ed, who eventually is able to get him on appropriate medication. 

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is sometimes a hard read because of the dangerous and upsetting situations Joey, who the reader will be rooting for, gets himself into. He is a likable, kind-hearted character, even though he poses a real challenge to all the adults in his life. Gantos gave Joey a powerful and believable voice. Joey’s narration is rollicking and jittery, just like Joey. This give the audience a unique perspective of how it must feel to be constantly wired, and not entirely in control of your mind. Even though the subject is grave, Joey’s commentary and comebacks provide some laughs—such as his oft-repeated “can I get back to you on that?”

Genre label: Contemporary Realistic fiction, Problem Novel, Tragicomedy  

Reading level: 5^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-8

Read-alikes:

Zipper, the Kid with ADHD

The Middle of Somewhere

Carter Finally Gets It

Trout and Me

Subjects/themes: ADHD, special education, abandonment, abuse 

Awards:

National Book Award Nominee (1998)

ALA Notable Children’s Book (1999)

Series information:

Joey Pigza Loses Control (2000)

What Would Joey Do? (2002)

I am Not Joey Pigza (2007)

Characters:

Joey Pigza—the protagonist, abandoned by his mother and father at age 5 and raised by his grandmother. He suffers from severe ADHD

Mrs. Maxy—Joey’s teacher, who tries to keep Joey grounded

Joey’s Grandma—an abusive care-giver with mental problems of her own